Search form

You are here

Monthly Archive

On the heels of last week’s guilty plea by Raul Sanchez for his involvement in a Bronx-based dog fighting operation, we are thrilled to report that many of the dogs are thriving in their new lives as beloved pets.

Mona now lives with two loving pet parents in a spacious house overlooking 50 mountainside acres, where she takes frequent hikes with her new dog sister, Zelda. Her other favorite activities include snuggling with Zelda by the fireplace and lounging on the couch with her new pet parents.

Mona Lisa’s journey to adoption wasn’t easy. After her rescue, she was transferred to one of our partner shelters, The Animal Support Project, Inc. (TASP) in Cropseyville, New York.

“When Mona arrived at the shelter, she cried and whined like a hyena and was extremely anxious, usually sitting pitifully at the kennel door,” says Melinda Plasse of TASP. But after plenty of attention, care and time to recover, Mona made great progress. “She is outgoing,” Melinda reports, “loves belly rubs, and is kind as can be to children and other animals.”

When we picture Mona Lisa romping around in the woods with her new family, we can’t help but smile. We’re working to make sure that animals nationwide won’t continue to suffer due to the cruel practice of animal fighting. Last week, legislators reintroduced the Animal Fighting Spectator Prohibition Act, which would make attending an organized animal fight a federal offense and would impose additional penalties for bringing a minor to an animal fight.

We want to thank Rachael Ray for her generous gift that allowed us to launch the facility, and to thank the many animal welfare organizations from near and far who helped us run this operation.

We also want to take a moment to thank all of our supporters. Without you, we couldn’t have helped any of the families whose pets we boarded after Sandy—nor could we have helped the thousands of others who benefited from our other Sandy relief programs like search-and-rescue and food distribution.

We invite you to watch this video and remember that our work is sponsored by your generosity and kindness!

Tonight, hundreds of animals who were once boarded with us are now sleeping near their loved ones once again.

Our boarding facility also housed stray animals found in disaster areas in the wake of Sandy. Those who weren’t claimed after exhaustive efforts to find their families are getting happy endings, too: All were transferred to either our Adoption Center or our rescue partners for adoption, and some have already found loving homes.

From the bottom of our hearts: Thank you, ASPCA supporters! We’re committed to staying ready to respond to any natural disaster at a moment’s notice, and we’re so glad you’re in our corner.

Attention sports fans: The single greatest athletic competition of the year is just a few days away! Get your snacks ready and invite all your friends over this Sunday at 3:00 PM—it’s time for Puppy Bowl IX on Animal Planet!

Here are some of the reasons we’ll be tuning into the Puppy Bowl this Sunday:

While we love senior shelter dogs, we can’t help but get excited when we have a litter of adorable puppies under our care. Recently, a litter of five sweet puppies left our Adoption Center for loving homes!

Boo

One of these cuties was a puppy with a velvety black coat named Inky, now called Boo.

Boo’s adopter, Diamond Durant, had never visited the Adoption Center before but fell in love with this “adorable, sweet, and playful” puppy right away.

“Boo is very sweet, loves to play and loves to sit on my lap,” Diamond says. “She nibbles on everything and calls for attention when she enters a room.”

Opal

Boo’s sister Pinky was also matched with a loving family. Her adopter, Pamela Harris, renamed her Opal and reports that this little puppy is thriving.

“We were thinking about what it would be like to adopt a slightly older dog, but then we met Opal,” Pamela says. “She was nervous and shaky, and the minute Joe picked her up and held her she licked his face and fell sound asleep. That was it—we were adopting her.”

And while Opal is still adjusting to the chilly New York City wind, she is adapting quickly to her new home.

“Opal hilariously hops when she runs, she politely sits before going out and coming in, and she loves her toys,” Pamela says. ”She has her moments of rambunctious puppy-ness and on the whole is beyond sweet.”

Opal will soon attend puppy playgroups, “where she can romp and get some of her ya-yas out,” and puppy obedience classes.

We’re so excited that these puppies got a second chance to find loving homes!

If you’re looking to adopt a puppy in NYC, check in with the ASPCA Adoption Center! We often have puppies for adoption, but they are frequently adopted before their pictures make it up on our website.

Got a Happy Tail of your own? Submit it to [email protected] and you could see it on the ASPCA Blog.

We’re proud to be partnering with one of the most exciting and innovative museums in our nation’s capital—the Crime Museum—to present the new exhibit “Dog Fighting: The Voiceless Victims.” This temporary exhibit offers an inside look at the tools dog fighters use to raise, train, fight and kill dogs who are victims of this blood sport.

The exhibit features artifacts and evidence seized by the ASPCA during dog fighting raids, including the largest dog fighting raid in U.S. history, carried out in 2009. The exhibit also demonstrates how ASPCA veterinary forensic experts combine state-of-the-art forensic sciences with veterinary medicine to discover how animals may have suffered or died.

“We want the public to see that dogs used in dog fighting are the victims of the crime, not instruments of the crime,” says Dr. Randall Lockwood, Senior Vice President of ASPCA Forensic Sciences and Anti-Cruelty Projects. “We want people to realize the brutality of dog fighting and see that it’s the greatest violation of the human-animal bond.”

“Dog Fighting: The Voiceless Victims” is on display in the Crime Museum through Labor Day. For more information, visit www.crimemuseum.org.